


Together

by wittykitsune



Series: Kit's HSWC Writings [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Body Image, Depression, Fat Shaming, Food, M/M, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Transstuck, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-12
Updated: 2013-09-12
Packaged: 2017-12-26 09:38:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/964427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wittykitsune/pseuds/wittykitsune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat and Dave have been together for a while and when two strangers speculate about the nature of their relationship Karkat begins to have doubts about himself and Dave’s love. </p><p>Written for MR3 of HSWC 2013.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together

**Author's Note:**

> Author is a cis female and if this work makes you uncomfortable in any way I am open for criticism.

It was a warm afternoon and Dave and Karkat stood in line to get tickets to the three o’clock showing of a rom com that Karkat had been dying to see. The two of them were holding hands and Dave was humming along pleasantly with the current song on his iphone. Karkat was letting his eyes look over the movie titles and watching the queue as they worked their way up to the front of the line. A glance back had shown him that they were in the middle of the current queue. They were sixth in line but they weren’t in a rush. It was twenty til and that gave them plenty of time to grab a snack and get a good seat even if they had to wait a little longer. Karkat was trying to identify the song Dave seemed to be enjoying when he was pulled from that thought by a conversation a few places behind them.  
  
“Hey Janet, are you seeing those two? I mean he could do so much better.” Karkat flinched slightly as he heard a dark haired teenager speak to her redheaded friend. He narrowed his eyes but resisted the urge to turn around and yell at the speaker.   
  
“I know, right? I wonder why he’s going out with that cow.” The redhead’s voice then lowered to a whisper but Karkat could still hear it. “Kristy, do you think it’s good  _in bed?_ ”   
  
Janet let out a shrill noise and raised her voice. “Oh my god did you really just say that? That’s disgusting.” Kristy lowered her voice. “Can you even imagine what that  _thing_  would look like undressed? Ew, ew, pass the brain bleach and fast. I’d just die if I looked like that. I’d never leave the house. Who would want to go out looking like that?”   
  
Karkat tightened his grip on Dave’s hand as they stepped forward when the next people in line were getting their tickets. His anger was growing but he knew if he held out they would be inside soon enough. Yelling at them and causing a scene would probably end the date and he didn’t want to let someone else end his good time. They’d be gone soon enough and what did their opinions matter anyway?  
  
“I wonder if he’d give me his number if I asked. Do you think I should ask him?” Karkat gritted his teeth and attempted to stop himself from turning and giving Kristy a death glare by imagining exactly what he’d do if she did come ask Dave for his number.  
  
“I wouldn’t do it while it is with him, but if you catch them apart I’d go for it he’s pretty cute.” The pair burst out into giggles and Karkat was grateful to be at the front of the line with Dave.   
  
Dave pulled his earbuds out and ran a dark brown hand over his blond hair before he smiled softly at the booth worker. “Two adults for Roses on Fences. Taking gorgeous here to see a movie.” Dave kept a hold of Karkat’s hand but elbowed him lightly and smiling wider.  
  
Karkat felt his slight scowl twitch into a soft smile as Dave paid for the tickets and walked with him into the theater. They were still holding hands as they made their way to the snackbar. The line there was longer than the ticket line and Karkat gave Dave’s hand another squeeze before speaking. “If you want to go save us a couple of seats I’ll get what you wanted. Nachos and a cherry slurpee, right?”   
  
“That worried about getting good seats to see this ‘epic romance unlike any other unfold’?” He snickered softly. “Yeah, that’s what I wanted, extra cheese please.” Dave grinned at him and kissed his cheek before walking off towards towards the doors under the sign saying “Showing Room E”.  
  
Karkat tightened his fists as he heard a familiar giggling, and he watched as Janet and Kristy head in after him. Karkat felt his pulse quicken as he tried to will the line fast. ‘If it was just for me I could fucking go but I go on in there Dave will ask what’s wrong and he doesn’t need to know about this. I can handle it. I can handle it.’ He swallowed and tried to steady his shaking hands when he got to the front of the line. “One order of nachos with extra cheese, a large box of Milk Duds, a jumbo popcorn, a cherry slurpee, and a large Dr. Pepper please.” Karkat was bouncing on his feet as he watched the order being made. His mind was imagining the two going over to Dave and trying to flirt. He hoped they didn’t sit behind him. He didn’t think he could handle hearing them laugh while he watch the movie. ‘I’m going to end up hitting one of them.’   
  
“Think you got enough to eat there?” The voice that spoke had a slight clicking to the undertone and Karkat bared his teeth slightly.  
  
“Thank you, keep the change.” He kept his tone to the server civil. He picked up the order and turned to glare at the tall troll behind him that rolled his eyes when he spotted the look. Putting Dave’s nachos in this guy’s face was so tempting but that meant getting another order if he wasn’t thrown out first. He moved quickly towards the doors and spotted the two young women being waved away from Dave who had acquired the middle seats of a middle section with an open aisle. Karkat liked that spot because it meant no trouble getting up and down if needed and no having to squeeze past anyone. The laughed louder when they passed Karkat to go sit in the next section over.   
  
“Hey Karkat, hope you didn’t have it out about what constituted extra cheese.” Dave took the offered nachos and and slurpee and held Karkat’s seat down so he could sit without worry about it.  
  
“No, the guy in front’s partner took forever to pick candy.” He opened his candy and dumped the chocolate covered caramels into the popcorn bucket. He heard a noise from where Janet and Kristy were but he ignored it.   
  
Dave had mixed up his nachos by hand and smirked at Karkat. “May I?” Karkat rolled his eyes and nodded and Dave grabbed a handful of the popcorn with his cheese covered fingers. He hummed contently as he chewed and Karkat let out a soft sigh before having his first handful of the treat. “Want a couple of nachos?”  
  
“Sure.” Karkat ate a few offered from Dave’s hand as the lights went down and he ignored the giggling familiar he heard as he gently licked Dave’s fingers clean in the now dark room. Karkat offered a napkin to him after and settled into his seat.   
  
“Preview time.” Dave sipped at his drink and offered the straw to Karkat who accepted it. He felt his stomach tighten at the part of a shriek he heard before it was muffled as he drank.   
  
“Thank you.” Karkat shifted his thighs and the bucket on them as he began to watch the trailers. He sipped at his soda and popped a few pieces of his snacks into his mouth now and then. The popcorn seemed tasteless now and the eating mechanical. There were other conversations going on nearby but somehow his ears kept picking up theirs the most. He couldn’t hear words, but the loud laughter and gagging noises carried.   
  
“You okay?” Dave reached into the bucket for handful as the movie began. “Too much salt? You’re looking kinda sick.” He wrapped an arm around Karkat and kissed his cheek.   
  
“No, the food is fine. Same as always. I’m just not as hungry as I thought I was.” He leaned on Dave slightly as the opening scene began. “Who were those two?” He had wanted to ignore it but seeing them near Dave and now their presence was making it hard to focus on much else.   
  
Dave shrugged. “I’ve never seen them before. They came over asking to sit with me but I told them no thanks. I guess they didn’t see us come in.”  
  
“I guess not.” Karkat swallowed hard and sipped at his drink more. The carbonation wasn’t helping the sick feeling but it gave him something to do. His mind was barely on the movie as he stared at the scene and ate now and then. Now that the movie was on things had quieted down mostly and he tried to relax again. His hand touched Dave’s now and then as they shared the bucket.   
  
It was a story of a pair of neighbors who grew up next door to each other and often talked through and then as they became tall enough over the fence to each other. The two leads were beautiful. Beautiful and thin. Dave sniffed softly as one had to move away and Karkat felt himself tearing up at a different pain. When the reunion scene came years later in their lives as they moved in next door to each other Karkat excused himself to the bathroom. Dave took the bucket in his lap and gripped his hand for a moment before he left.  
  
Once he was in there Karkat splashed cold water on his face and tried to ease the sick feeling that made him want to empty his stomach’s contents into the nearest toilet. He breathed deeply for a few moments and managed to calm down before beginning to press the door open. He heard a pair of familiar voices.  
  
“Can you believe he said we looked nice but he’s here with someone prettier? What is he thinking? Has to be one of those chubby chasers. You know, the guys that only go for the fat ones.” Karkat recognized the voice as Janet’s.   
  
“That must be it. No other way he’d even be with that whale. I bet it doesn’t even fit in the seats properly. They should have a limit on the good seats and make that  _thing_  sit in the back.”   
  
“Forget him. He’s not worth our time anyway. That movie blows anyway and Nancy texted me about a sale.”  
  
Karkat shut the door again when he caught a glimpse of them passing and made his way to the first stall. He dropped to his knees and gripped it. He coughed a few times before he felt it come up and he sobbed softly when he felt the spasms stop.   
  
“Karkat?” He heard the door open and Dave come in. “You okay?”   
  
“No, I got sick. I think it was the heat.”   
  
Dave came into the stall after setting down their food at the sinks. He knelt beside him and rubbed his back softly. He tore off some toilet paper to wipe the tears and around his mouth. “You didn’t have to make yourself eat if you felt sick. If you get hot nothing wrong with going to cool off first. I’d tell you what you missed.” Dave hugged him and Karkat turned to presses his face into his shoulder.   
  
“Can we go home?”  
  
“Yeah. We can come back tomorrow evening when it isn’t so hot or I’ll nab the tickets online if it is still this hot and you wanna try another afternoon.” Dave helped him up and over to the sink. He dumped out the soda into it and got him some water to clean his mouth.  
  
Karkat rinsed and dropped the cup in the popcorn bucket before dropping it on the trash outside the restroom. Dave finished his last few nachos before walking towards the doors with his cup in one hand and Karkat’s in his other.   
  
“Here, hold my cup and I’ll go get the car so you can stay in the AC. I’ll just be a minute.” Dave kissed his cheek before heading out the door and Karkat bite his lip as he tried hard not to throw the cup down in frustration at himself.  
  
‘I shouldn’t be letting this shit get to me what the fuck do they know? Dave’s not just with me because I’m fat. I mean yeah the only other person I know he dated was Terezi and she’s a little chubby but-’ He groaned softly and left the thought unfinished as he headed out to join Dave in the car.  
  
\---  
  
“Hey, you still feeling sick or do you want some dinner? I made that cold chicken salad you like.” Dave spoke softly through the door.  
  
Karkat was laying in bed still slightly groggy from a nap. He looked at the clock and saw was after eight. Their covers were half around him and half off the bed and a few pillows had ended up on the floor. He untangled himself from them and sat up. “No, I’m not hungry.”  
  
Dave came in with a glass of ice water and Karkat thanked him softly for it. “You sure? I could order something else or there’s some leftovers. I could make you something too. Tea and toast? Oatmeal?”   
  
“I don’t fucking want anything.” Karkat growled softly but frowned and opened his arm which caused Dave to immediately hug him.  
  
“It’s alright. I’m being pushy. I know it. Want a shower?”  
  
“Sure. Maybe I’ll feel better then.” Karkat pulled off his shirt and the black panties he was in and watched Dave get out of his shirt and jeans.  
  
“Can you give me a hand with my binder?” Dave smiled at him sheepishly.   
  
“Of course.” Karkat came over and carefully helped him get it over his head and set it on their bed with the rest of the clothes.  
  
Dave took his hand and pulled him into the bathroom with him and turned the shower on just barely warm. “If you keep feeling bad let me know and we’ll get you over to your doctor. Heat stroke can be pretty bad if that’s what happened.”  
  
“I’ll be fine, I’m just nauseous.” He climbed in with Dave and grabbed a washcloth and the soap to lather it.   
  
“Want me to get your back?”   
  
“No, I’m fine I’ve got it.” Karkat shook his head.   
  
“Okay.”   
  
The two showered in silence other than Dave’s humming. Karkat avoided contact as they swapped for the water now and then and looked away slightly when Dave tried to catch his eye.  
  
“Maybe you should go to bed early. You aren’t looking so good. You sure you don’t want to go to the doctor?”  
  
“I’m fucking  _fine_  leave me alone. Stop pushing it Dave.” Karkat clicked softly under his breath and felt his heart ache at the hurt look he caught in Dave’s eyes for a moment before it was gone.   
  
“If you say so. I think something’s wrong but if you don’t want to talk I ain’t making you.” Dave climbed out to dry off and Karkat waited until he left to follow. He wasn’t in the bedroom when he came out from drying off and Karkat put on one of his old sweatshirts and a pair of boxers before climbing into bed and trying to sleep.  
  
\----  
  
When Dave came into the room it was dark and almost one in the morning. Karkat was laying on his side and still awake but feigning sleep. Dave climbed into bed behind him and Karkat felt him scoot close and wrap an arm around him to spoon. Karkat grunted softly and scooted away.  
  
“Karkat... What’s wrong? You never turn down spooning even when you are sick. Not even when we’re having a fight. Look I’m sorry if I was smothering earlier but please can we talk?”  
  
“I don’t want to talk I want to sleep and I don’t need you all over me.” Karkat curled up on the bed wishing he could will away his large thighs and the pudge of stomach. He scooted over more to give Dave more room and almost was on the edge of his side.  
  
“Why don’t you want me touching you? You’ve been avoiding me ever since you had your nap. Did you have a nightmare?” Karkat could tell Dave had sat up and he could hear the concern but he only tried to pull himself tighter.  
  
“I didn’t have a nightmare. I’m fine. Go to sleep.”   
  
“Your fetal position tells me otherwise.” Dave sighed. “But fine I’ll see you in the morning. Good night.” Dave sighed and laid down on his side. “I love you.”  
  
Karkat shut his eyes tight and tried not to tear up. It hurt to hear those words and he knew he was hurting Dave by not talking to him. He couldn’t. ‘If I tell him he’ll tell me how it is and what if it is that he likes me because I am?’ He was awake long after Dave began to snore softly, only sleeping when fatigue finally won out over his stress.  
  
\---  
  
Karkat stepped outside very early the next morning in gray sweatpants and sweatshirt. He’d only managed a few hours sleep and Dave was still sleeping when he’d gotten up and dressed. Karkat headed to the left and began to run as fast as he could. ‘Maybe if I lose some of this I can find out without fucking asking him. Maybe then I’ll know.’ It didn’t take long for him to become winded but he kept going and pushing himself as hard as he could.  
  
Dave got up and stretched and frowned at the empty spot on the bed. He touched it and found it cold. He frowned even more. He slipped into a pair of jeans before pulling on his binder and shirt. He checked the whole apartment before grabbing his cell phone and swearing softly when Karkat’s rang in the very same room. He pocketed his phone and grabbed his shoes.  
  
Karkat had been walking for a while and was panting hard. He felt dizzy but he pressed forward and continued to move. He ignored the dark stains of sweat and the coughing. ‘Just a little more, then I’ll turn back.’ He stumbled and fell over hitting the ground hard and he let out a soft sob. He heard a few people walk by before he felt a hand grip his shoulder tightly and shift him to help him up.  
  
“Karkat fuck... what are you doing?” Before Karkat could protest Dave had pulled him over and forced him into the back seat of the running car. Dave shut the door and pressed a water bottle to his lips. “Drink slowly.” After a few swallows Dave was pouring it on his hair and neck and the icy cold water felt heavenly.   
  
“Can we go home first?” Karkat took the bottle when Dave pressed it gently into his hands.  
  
“Yeah, we can go home.”  
  
\-----  
  
Dave drove in silence while Karkat sipped water and just tried to breathe. Dave helped him out of the car and back into their place and a cool bath. He brought him more ice water, set the glass near the tub, and then sat on a stool near him. “Baby, if you want to lose weight that’s fine, but that’s not the way to do it.”  
  
Karkat let out a sob and Dave leaned over when he motioned for a hug. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. Those two yesterday got to me. They were saying shit in line and then they talked to you and then I heard them when I was coming out of the bathroom and and-”  
  
“And you didn’t want to kick ass because you didn’t want our date ending with you in jail.” Dave sighed softly and cupped his cheeks. “I love you. I’d love you if you want to lose weight the right way and I’d love you still even if you gained weight. It is your life and your body and you do what makes you happy not me or anyone else. You know that. I know you know that. I’ve seen you lob back plenty of choice insults to people who take the lazy route and go after your looks.”  
  
“I know... fuck I know but Dave I just need reminding sometimes. I got scared when they started filling my head with things. You know it is a touchy subject for me.”  
  
“Many a session on the couch together cuddling ever since high school. I know. Hell you weren’t the only one. Remember when I cut my hair short finally and began dressing the way I wanted?”  
  
“I held Stephen McPherson’s friends off while you kicked his ass for those bullshit comments. But Dave that isn’t the fucking same.”  
  
“No, maybe not, but both involve being who we are and not giving a damn about what anyone else thinks.” Dave scooped water with a cup from the sink and poured it over Karkat’s hair and back. “If you want to lose weight make it about you wanting it. Not what I think or anyone else.”  
  
“But what do you think?” Karkat took his hand lightly.  
  
“I think you need to figure out what makes you happy and not worry about me. I already told you Karkat and have told you, keep it, lose it, or gain more, you’re still Karkat Vantas and I love you just the same.”  
  
“Dave?”   
  
“Yeah?” He squeezed his hand lightly.  
  
“When I’m done cooling down can you make me pancakes?” Karkat smiled a little and looked down at the water.  
  
“Sure.” Dave laughed softly.  
  
Karkat leaned over and kissed him. “I love you.” He nuzzled his face against Dave’s.   
  
“You love my pancakes.” Dave grinned softly.  
  
“I love you and your pancakes.” Karkat returned it and they laughed softly together.  
  
“You going to be okay?” Dave reached over and pet his hair.  
  
“I think so. I might have to wait until I try to eat to know for sure. Thanks though for coming out to get me and not scolding me too much.” Karkat began to let out a chirpy clicky purr from his chest.  
  
Dave ruffled his hair lightly. “You’ve been rough enough for the both of us. Besides I could be saving my scolding for later.”   
  
“I can’t wait.” Karkat rolled his eyes but continued to purr under his touch.  
  
Dave helped him out of the tub. Karkat dried off and dressed in a nightgown and headed to the kitchen with him. He helped Dave mix the batter and the two sat down to pancakes. They fed each other from their forks and hummed contently and shared a sticky kiss after.


End file.
